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Super evening in NCP Saturday as the hurlers gave us another great display. They have so much character and only for the Laois keeper, the winning margin would of been greater. Some performances were top notch especially Fiachra Fitz in midfield. Kevin Mc, Jon Nolan, Fiach O Toole v good in the half back line along with Conor Kehoe and Chris up front. Dualclub1 (Carlow) - Posts: 302 - 20/04/2026 12:32:13 2667472 Link 0 |
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Well done Carlow hurlers! A very good overall performance delivered crucial goals and the defence stood firm and upscuttled Laois time after time. We looked in some trouble after the second half scoring spree from Laois but we settled and put the pressure back on the Laois defence as our outfield players really got stuck in and delivered a lot of decent ball. Hard to find fault with the display The under 20's defeating Westmeath was special as they were down to 14 early in the second half. But the players really pushed oj and got some vital scores. That was a special win The minor footballers play with plenty of confidence and it shows! They have a nice style of play and look for players in a better position. They mix it up well, have a bit of physique where it counts and overall, are a decent team. That was 3 teams winning from Thursday to Sat. Not too often that happens but great when it does. Mullingar on Saturday will be a another serious and difficult assignment. Having James Doyle ,Conor Kehoe and Ciaran Whelan with another big game under their belt is a huge plus. carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1897 - 20/04/2026 14:58:42 2667525 Link 0 |
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You can enjoy the win and great result while still acknowledging there's a slight downward tragectory given lads getting older and the manager having a quite antiquated style compared to the way that the game is progressing.
CarlowJuniorB (Clare) - Posts: 150 - 20/04/2026 17:14:00 2667550 Link 0 |
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I would actually say he got the tactics absolutely spot on to win the game! We kept 2 inside for the bulk of the game and this differed from a lot of the league games where we had no major inside threat. We pressed most of their puck ours again which we didn't do for a lot of league games. I think you have to play to win the game Infront of you rather than a style of others. I always thought the Laois inside line was getable at and with Chris/James in there you are always going to stress test any backline. Keeping it fairly simple suits this group of players and the stage they are at in their careers.
old yellar (None) - Posts: 2651 - 20/04/2026 20:49:20 2667601 Link 0 |
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You may be right about the antiquated style but you are managing that downward trajectory far better than us. Sadly from our point of view too many players retired at the one time and we will pay the price for a number of years. The Carlow board and players are to be highly commended for this as over the past decade yourselves,Laois and ourselves have striven for the top table and now ourselves and Laois are paying the price of exhausted players having enough and not enough replacements of the same quality. Our 20s have been very disappointing.
jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1924 - 20/04/2026 21:03:20 2667604 Link 0 |
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Spot on, having James Doyle makes these tactics easier too with his physical presence. If we can deliver 60/40 ball to them we can do damage. Also if we turn ball over in our half forward line we have pace with Jack Tracey, Donagh Murphy and Conor Kehoe to break through on goal similar to Conor's goal. Apart from the 15 minutes after half time you'd have to be happy. Laois upped the intensity, pushed up on our puck out and had Fiachra C Fennell positioned to stop delivery to our 2 man full forward line which was also helped by the work rate of their forwards. The lads showed huge character to kick on after losing a 7 point lead so quickly. I understand what people are saying about the game / performance but it was a huge game for both teams. They all knew the loser would be under huge pressure. Over the last few years we've had an easier start to the campaign (on paper) too. Also, confidence wasn't going to be high after a poor league campaign and some players haven't had a lot of game time such as James Doyle, Conor Kehoe, Ciaran Whelan, Jack McCullagh. Interesting that Jon Nolan was positioned at wing back, which Rangers tried in the group stage of last years championship. His best position is still probably wing forward but I'd prefer him wing back compared to midfield though you might prefer more natural defenders with the likes of Picky Maher on the pitch. Anyway on to Mullingar on Saturday! hurlingguru (Carlow) - Posts: 1854 - 20/04/2026 22:35:55 2667616 Link 0 |